site.btaBrussels Adopts EUR 113 Mln Investment Package for Bulgarian Fisheries and Aquaculture Sectors

Brussels Adopts EUR 113 Mln Investment Package for Bulgarian Fisheries and Aquaculture Sectors


Brussels/Sofia, November 17 (BTA) - The European Commission
adopted a key investment package for the Bulgarian maritime,
fisheries and aquaculture sectors, the Agriculture and Food
Ministry in Sofia reported on Tuesday. The roughly 113 million
euro available for the period 2014-2020 include more than 88
million euro in aid from the European Maritime and Fisheries
Fund (EMFF).

Commenting on the decision, European Commission Vice President
for Budget and Human Resources Kristalina Georgieva said: "This
package of more than 200 million leva means more secure jobs and
 incomes for thousands of fishermen, steadier fish stocks and
cleaner sea and river water. Everybody in the fisheries sector
stands to gain from that, and larger amounts of higher-quality
fish will reach Bulgarian tables. With the approval of this
programme, the full package of 32 billion leva in EU funding
until 2020 is now available to Bulgaria. I expect that the money
 will very soon materialize in the form of successful projects
changing people's lives for the better."

Welcoming the adoption of the package, European Commissioner for
 Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Karmenu Vella
stressed the programme's contribution to sustainable growth.

The adopted operational programme is in line with the priorities
 of the EMFF, as well as the EU's Common Fisheries Policy and
Integrated Maritime Policy. The funding will contribute to limit
 the impact of fishing activities on the marine environment and
enhance its biodiversity, and ensure the balance between fishing
 capacity and available fishing opportunities. The programme
also aims to promote economically and environmentally
sustainable aquaculture and processing sectors. Funds will flow
to projects that improve the livelihood of fishing communities -
 for instance by setting up Community-Led Local Development
groups (CLLD) and creating Fisheries Local Action Groups
(FLAGs).

The main focus for the Bulgarian Fisheries Operational Programme
 is on: promoting environmentally sustainable, resource
efficient, innovative, competitive and knowledge based fisheries
 (using 25.5 million euro in funding); promoting environmentally
 sustainable, resource efficient, innovative, competitive and
knowledge based aquaculture (36.2 million euro); fostering the
implementation of the EU Common Fisheries Policy (12.4 million
euro); increasing employment and territorial cohesion (17.8
million euro); fostering marketing and processing (12.7 million
euro); implementing the Integrated Maritime Policy (3.3 million
euro); and technical assistance (5.5 million euro).